The present invention relates to disposable protective clothing for use in nuclear/radioactive environments.
Prior art protective clothing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,901,370, 4,943,475, 5,626,947, 6,460,198, 6,792,625, and 7,203,974.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,370 discloses a garment for protection against environmental contamination. The garment is formed of a laminate and includes a built-in hood with a transparent window and filtered openings for ingress of breathing air. A mouthpiece and conduit with a check valve are used for exhalation so as to avoid the use of an external air supply.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,475 discloses a multilayer composite protective fabric material and its use in protective clothing. The composite fabric material includes a fabric support layer and a composite permselective membrane layer that is permeable to water vapor but impermeable to toxic organic vapors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,947 discloses composite chemical barrier films and fabrics that are useful in protective garments. The composite barrier material is made by laminating a barrier film to a flexible substrate using a thermoplastic resin and topcoating the barrier film with a similar or dissimilar thermoplastic resin to allow fabric seaming when the fabric is fabricated into a protective garment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,198 discloses a garment system for healthcare providers which includes pants, a shirt, and a hood that provides a protective barrier against infectious materials in body fluids. The garment is adapted for use in field operating and/or uniformed organizations by the inclusion of details such as pockets and a protective hood.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,625 discloses protective suit for protection against harmful chemical and biological substances. The suit includes an outer layer and a liner which is disposed underneath the outer layer and is provided with a barrier layer against chemical and biological substances. The protective suit is configured as a coverall, the barrier layer which has been incorporated into the liner being a membrane which is surrounded on both sides by a protective layer each. The suit includes an integrated hood and socks. The hood uses a central zipper and sewn seams are taped with a three layer barrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,203,974 discloses scrubs or similar protective garments that are limited reusable products. The products may be laundered and reused after laundering a number of times. Although the limited reusable products contain water-soluble material, the limited reusable products maintain structural integrity during multiple washing cycles so that the product may be reused between washing cycles. The limited reusable products release contaminants during the washing process. One embodiment discloses a launderable coverall with 11 pockets for dosimetry use.
What would be desirable is a disposable garment for universal application in the nuclear industry for both indoor and outdoor applications that provides integrated elements for breathable, water resistant, comfortable contamination protection for use with external air hoses, a back-mounted self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), an emergency breathing apparatus (e.g., SKA-PAK®), air sampling equipment and/or dosimetry equipment.